Collapsible ornamental box



May 4, 1965 R. E. www 3,181,764

COLLAPSIBLE ORNAMENTAL BOX Filed Feb. 25. 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet'l 1 Y BY MJL? ltr/9 i WJ, ,ffm fQ/M May 4, 1965 R. E. owRY COLLAPSIBLE ORNAMENTAL BOX Filed Feb., 25, 196s i 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 meg INVENT R BY 'f n) M my; M rra/wm@ May .4, 1965 R. E. LOwRY 3,181,764

COLLAPSIBLE ORNAMENTAL BOX Filed Feb. 25, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent O 3,181,764 COLLAPSIBLE GRNAMENTAL BOX Ronald E. Lowry, 5871 Montfort Hills Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio Filed Feb. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 260,645 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-15) This invention relates to a box which is formed from a one piece paperboard blank and which is free of flaps and tabs which must be folded and tucked to form the box.

The box of the present invention is especially adapted for on-the-spot packaging of retail merchandise particularly including confections, but the invention is of course not limited to that specific application.

It is the present practice of manufacturers to cut, score and crease one piece blanks and ship the blanks in at condition to the packager of the goods. In a retail establishment, as for example a bakery, the sales clerks form a box from the one piece blank and put the purchased goods into it each time .a sale is made. The one piece blank normally has side panels, end panels, flaps and tabs which must be folded and tucked in order to form the box. This is obviously a time consuming process from which no profit is derived; that is to say a clerk could be occupied in the actual selling of merchandise during the cumulative time spent setting up innumerable boxes from one piece blanks. Another disadvantage of the present practice is the need for the retail establishment to keep on hand blanks for boxes of a number of different sizes to accommodate the different sized objects to be placed in the box. The different sized boxes .are not necessarily needed for the sake of economy but more particularly it is important to tit the box to the goods being packaged in order` to prevent the goods from bouncing around and becoming damaged within the box.

vide a box formable from a one piece blank which obviates or minimizes the disadvantages referred to above. More specically, the `objective of the invention embraces the formation of a box having plaited side Walls surrounding a bottom panel, the side Walls being .foldable in accordion fashion to lie substantially fiat against the bottom panel. The blanks can be stored in an unfolded but creased and cut condition or preferably they can be stored inthe flat folded `condition described above. When in the at folded condition, all that is required to set up a box is to spread the side walls. There are no panels to fold and no side aps and tabs to be tucked in order lto form a substantially self-sustaining container.

It has been still another-objective of the invention to provide a box having plaited side Walls as described above, the inwardly projecting portions or plaits of the side Wall being notched adjacent the upper edge of the side Wall in order to receive and support a at lid. In accordance With this feature of the invention, the size of the vbox is determined by the size of the lid which is disposed in the notches in the side wall. If a small lid is employed, the side wall closes partially down over the bottom wall. If a large lid is used on the other hand, the large lid will spread the side wall so lthat it dares outwardly with its peripheral edge extending substantially beyond the extent of the bottom Wall. An intermediate size lid can be used to form a side wall which is substantially penpendicular to the -bottom Wall, the side Wall then being generally cylindrical.

It has been still another objective of the invention to provide a box of the type described above in which the outwardly projecting portions of the plaited side wall are notched or recessed. These recesses are adapted to receive a flexible tie such as a string vor rubber band after the lid has been placed on the inner notches, the string 0r rubber band holding the side Wall into snug engagement with the edge of the lid to prevent 'its slipping out oi engagement with the notches.

These and other objectives kof the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a package formed from the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a top condition,

FIG. 3 is a top invention,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the box in a partially unfolded condition adapted to rece-ive ya small lid to form `a small container, and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the one piece blank showing lthe fold lines by which the box is formed.

The invention will be described in connection with a circular box which is illustrated in the drawings, but it should be understood that the invention is applicable to boxes of other configurations as for example an elliptical or Ioval shaped box. The one piece paperboard blank plan view of a box of the present from which the box is [formed is illustrated in FIG. 5.l

The blank, indicated at 10, is circular and presents a circular peripheral edge 11.

Spaced inwardly from the peripheral edge 11 is a genefnally circular fold line 12 which defines the bottom 13 of the box. The fold line 12 is not precisely circular,

` but is actually polygonal and is formed of a series of short chords 14 of a circle. n

In defining the bottom wall 13, the fold line 12- also defines the side wall 15. The side wall has a plurality of radial fold lines 16 which are uniformly spaced around the blank. The fold lines 16 are formed by The objective of the present invention has been to procreasing the blank in such a manner that the fold created by the fold lines 16 will be directed outwardly of the Wall 15 when the Wall is erected. Alternating with the radial fold lines around the side wall are V-shaped fold lines 17. Each fold -line comprises a pair of legs 19 and 20 which intersect in a V at the peripheral edge 11 of the blank. At their other ends 'the legs 19 and 20 terminate at the intersection of the radial fold lines 16 and the generally circular yfold line 12. The V-shaped fold lines 17 are creased in a direction opposite to that of the radial fold line 16 so that when the side Wall 15 is erected, the portion or plait 21 of the side wall defined by the V-shaped fold line projects inwardly. The outwardly projecting plaits terminated by fold line 16 are designated at 22.

One of the legs 2t) of the, V-shaped fold line is preferably creased to a greater degree than the other leg. The paperboard is therefore stiffer at fold lline 19 than it is at fold line 20. This greater stiffness causes all ofthe outwardly projecting plaits 22 folded on line 16 to tend to fall in the same direction as illustrated in FIG. 2. 1

The edge portion of the fblank isrcut to provide alternating circular holes 25 and semi-circular holes 26 which provide a flat edge 27. The circular holes 25 overlie the outwardly projecting radial fold lines 16 in the plait 22 and are adapted to receive a ilexible tying element 28 such as a string or rubber band as illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 3. The tying element 28 holds the side walls in erect position against `a lid 29. It should be understood that the invention is not restricted to the use of circular holes 25 or even to the use of holes at all. For example, the plait 22 could be indented at the position yof the circular hole a suicient distance to retain the tying element 28.

plan view of the box in its at foldedr The lid 29 may be circular as shown, or may be shaped to conform to other box configurations. It should be noted that the top may be notched to interiit more closely with the plaits 22 and may be provided with a window.

After the blank illustrated in FIG. 5 has been formed by creasing and cutting, it may be shipped in that condition for use by the packager of goods or alternatively, and preferably, the side wall may be folded over and flat against the surface of Ithe bottom wall as illustrated in FIG. 2. While this position of the side wall occupies somewhat more space than a completely flat blank as illustrated in FIG. 5, it has the advantage of being adapted to be immediately set up into a position forming a container.

In the use of the invention, a sales clerk or the like who Wishes to package an article or articles in the box of the present invention selects la box in the dat condition of FIG. 2 and inserts his lingers in the opening 31 dened by the inwardly folded edge 11 of the side wall. A slight outward pressure of the lingers spreads the side Walls through a partly closed attitude as illustrated in FIG. 4; through a position in which the side walls are substantially vertical to the bottom Wall forming a cylindrical box; to the condition of FIG. l in which the side wall flares outwardly from the bottom wall. A package may be formed when the side wall is in any one of those three conditions by selecting a small, intermedia-te or large size lid 29.

When the side wall 15 has .been spread to the proper size, the mechandise is introduced into the box and a lid 29 of the desired size is selected and seated in the notches 26 so that the lids lower surface rests against the ilat edges 27 dei-ined by the notches 26. A rubber band or string is then placed tightly around the outside of the side wall, the rubber band or string being disposed in the recesses or notches formed by the holes 25 to prevent its slipping from the side walls.

It might be noted that it is not necessary in all instances to seat a lid in notches 26. It may be desirable to cover the merchandise with paper or a paperboard lid and then to close the side wall "down over the covered merchandise and secure it with a rubber band.

The sides 15 of the container may be made longer than shown in the drawings, in relation to the diameter of the bottom 13, so that with the sides folded inwardly as in FIG. 4, they will nearly meet at the top, thereby providing -a container which is conical.

It is also contemplated that the container may be used in van attitude inverted'with respect to that shown in the drawings, as a cover for goods which rest on the member 29. In this event the member 29 can be shaped as a dish having a raised edge, so that i-ts lower surface will extend to or beyond the edge of the sides.

The container can be adapted to hold semi-liquid products by notching the lid, as previously suggested, to provide a tight iuterfit with the plaits 22, and by using a wire hoop of which bears downwardly yon the lid 29 within the holes 25, to hold 'the lid in tighter sealing engagement with the container walls.

Having described my invention, what is claimed is:

1. A package comprising,

a circular one piece blank,

a generally `circular fold line spaced inwardly from and concentric with the edge of said blank,

a plurality of radial fold lines extending between said circular fold line and the edge of said blank and uniformly spaced aro-und said blank,

V-shaped yfold lines spaced around said blank in alternating relation to said radial fold lines, said V-shaped l fold lines having their apexes on the edge of said blank midway between the points at which said radial fold lines meet the edge of said blank, said V-shaped fold lines having their opposite extremities terminating at the intersection of said circular fold line and said radial fold lines,

said fold lines cooperating yto provide ian `accordion folded side wall constituted by fthe portion of said blank between said circular fold line and the edge of aid blank, said radial fold lines comprising the `outermost projections of said side wall when said wall is accordion folded [and said V-shaped fold lines deiining the innermost projections of said side wall when said wall is accordion folded,

onek leg of said V-shaped fold lines being less flexible than vthe other to urge a uniform direction of folding when said side wall is folded against said bottom Wall.

2. A package comprising,

a circular one piece blank,

a generally circular fold line spaced inwardly from and concentric with the edge of said blank,

a plurality of radial fold lines extending between said circular fold line and the edge of said blank and uniformly spaced around said blank,

V-sharped fold lines spaced around said blank in alternating relation to said radial fold lines, said V-shaped, fold lines having their apexes on the edge of said blank midway between the points at which said radial fold lines meet the edge of said blank, said V-shaped fold lines having their opposite extremities :terminating at the intersection of said circular fold line and said radial fold lines,

said fold lines cooperating to provide -an accordion folded side Wall constituted by `the porti-on of said blank between said circular fold line and the edge of said blank, said radial fold lines comprising the outermost projections of said side wall when said wall is accordion folded and said V-shaped fold lines defining the innermost projections of said side wall when ysaid wall is accordion folded,

one leg of said V-shaped fold lines being less flexible than the other to urge a uniform direction of folding when said side Wall is folded against said bottom wall,

uniformly spaced notches formed in said side wall,

each notch extending symmetrically across the respective V-shaped fold lines but not extending to a radial -fold line, each notch having a flat edge parallel to the circular fold line,

and a circular top within said side wall and having its -periphery received within said notches on the respective ilat edges thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 236,518 l/ 8l Vivarttas 229-15 X 527,202 10/ 94 Heywood et al. 2,047,804 7 3 6 Shapiro. 2,091,291 8 37 Ringler. 2,093,237 9/37 Dolecki 229-1.5 X 2,160,488 5/ 39 Ringler. 2,827,217 3/ 5 8 Clement 229-1.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 758,965 10/56 Great Britain.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PACKAGE COMPRISING, A CIRCULAR ONE PIECE BLANK, A GENERALLY CIRCULAR FOLD LINE SPACED INWARDLY FROM AND CONCENTRIC WITH THE EDGE OF SAID BLANK, A PLURALITY OF RADIAL FOLD LINES EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID CIRCULAR FOLD LINE AND THE EDGE OF SAID BLANK AND UNIFORMLY SPACED AROUND SAID BLANK, V-SHAPED FOLD LINES SPACED AROUND SAID BLANK IN ALTERNATING RELATION TO SAID RADIAL FOLD LINES, SAID V-SHAPED FOLD LINES HAVING THEIR APEXES ON THE EDGE OF SAID BLANK MIDWAY BETWEEN THE POINTS AT WHICH SAID RADIAL FOLD LINES MEET THE EDGE OF SAID BLANK, SAID V-SHAPED FOLD LINES HAVING THEIR OPPOSITE EXTREMITIES TERMINATING AT THE INTERSECTION OF SAID CIRCULAR FOLD LINE AND SAID RADIAL FOLD LINES, SAID FOLD LINES COOPERATING TO PROVIDE AN ACCORDION FOLDED SIDE WALL CONSTITUTED BY THE PORTION OF SAID BLANK BETWEEN SAID CIRCULAR FOLD LINE AND THE EDGE OF SAID BLANK, SAID RADIAL FOLD LINES COMPRISING THE OUTERMOST PROJECTIONS OF SAID SIDE WALL WHEN SAID WALL IS ACCORDION FOLDED AND SAID V-SHAPED FOLD LINES DEFINING THE INNERMOST PROJECTIONS OF SAID SIDE WALL WHEN SAID WALL IS ACCORDION FOLDED, ONE LEG OF SAID V-SHAPED FOLD LINES BEING LESS FLEXIBLE THAN THE OTHER TO URGE A UNIFORM DIRECTION OF FOLDING WHEN SAID SIDE WALL IS FOLDED AGAINST SAID BOTTOM WALL. 